Program Overview

Our Exploration Courses provide you the opportunity to experience WashU from home. Through these online, noncredit courses, you are immersed in collegiate study with pre-college peers from around the world. You will learn to communicate clearly and thoughtfully on complex topics, build confidence in college-level coursework, and gain valuable insights from experts in their fields. If you are looking for the flexibility of an online experience and a way to supplement your academic portfolio then these courses are for you!

Exploration Courses are offered asynchronously. This means you will not have set required times to attend class allowing you to balance these courses with other school and extracurricular commitments. Class sizes are small (typically no more than 15 participants) to ensure you receive personalized feedback from instructors.

Eligibility

To be eligible to register for an Exploration Course you should:

• Be a current high school student.
• Be at least 13 years old by the start of course.
• Have a minimum 3.5 weighted cumulative grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
• Meet any prerequisites listed for a course.

International applicants for whom English is a second language should provide documentation of their ability to complete coursework in English by providing an official TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, Duolingo, or GATEWAY score report. Additional guidelines for international applicants are available here.

Enrollment

Individuals interested in enrolling should submit a registration form, copy of their transcript, and signed parent/guardian liability waiver and release. Registration requests are reviewed on a rolling basis until a course fills or the deadlines indicated below.

Registration Deadlines

• Fall 2025: September 1, 2025 (registration is closed)
• Spring 2026: January 19, 2026 (registration is closed)
• Summer 2026: May 11, 2026 (registration now open)

Space is limited in these courses, so we encourage you not to wait until the deadline to submit registration materials.

View 2025-2026 Registration and Course Details

Fees and Scholarships

The 2025-2026 Exploration Course program fee is $985 per course. Need-based scholarship assistance is available. Children of WashU employees and returning students are eligible for a 10% discount. Details on need-based scholarships and discounts are available here.

Once we receive and review registration materials, we will send details on paying the balance due. The balance must be paid in full in order for a student to be enrolled in courses.

Grading and Evaluation

Participants are evaluated based on engagement in Canvas ("attendance"), completion of assignments by deadlines, and quality of work produced. Noncredit programs do not issue a traditional letter grade (A, B, C, D, F). Instead, participants will receive an "L" for successful completion/audit or a "Z" for unsuccessful completion/audit. Because Exploration Courses are noncredit, no transferable credit is earned. At the end of the course, participants may request a transcript for noncredit course work. No certificates are issued for these courses.

Enrollment in an Exploration Course does not imply or guarantee acceptance into a degree program at WashU. For questions about the undergraduate admission process, please contact Undergraduate Admissions.

Orientation

Once an individual has been enrolled, they will be invited to join the Arts & Sciences Pre-College Orientation in Canvas which includes additional information about policies, procedures, and available resources.